No party should issue whip on women's bill: Katiyar

BJP may boast of leading the fight for women's reservation in Parliament but its own national general secretary Vinay Katiyar says the bill on the issue is not acceptable.

He also says political parties should not issue a whip when the bill is put to vote in Parliament.

"No political party -- be it BJP, Congress, the Left or the regional parties -- should issue a whip on the Women's Reservation Bill when it is put to vote. There should be an open discussion with an open mind on it," Katiyar told PTI.

The OBC leader feels the bill in its present form was unacceptable to several leaders cutting across party lines as it did not give representation to all sections of the society.

He has already met prominent leaders of BJP and other parties to build a momentum for altering the current bill.

"Kalawati (a poor woman of Maharashtra made famous by Rahul Gandhi in a speech in Lok Sabha last year) may have benefitted from Rahul Gandhi's efforts but what will happen to the Lilawatis. This bill would benefit only to about 10 per cent women (those from the higher strata of society)," he said.

"The fisherwoman fishing in the deep sea or the woman picking wood in the high mountains would still remain deprived of political empowerment," he added.

Katiyar, who lost the Lok Sabha elections from Ambedkarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, said he was not against reservation for women in Parliament but it should benefit all sections of society.